Myrica hartwegii

Sierra sweet bay, Sierra Sweet Bay

Family: Myricaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Sierra sweet bay is a California native shrub found in northern and central Sierra Nevada in streambanks and moist yellow-pine forest habitats at elevations of 300 to 1,800 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces small whitish flowers in delicate clusters. Growing one to two meters tall with a dense, rounded form, it features widely oblanceolate leaves with rounded or obtuse tips. Its leaves are typically a deep green, approximately 3 to 8 centimeters long, with a distinctive sweet aromatic quality when crushed. The fruit appears as small round clusters, generally 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters in diameter, developing after flowering.

Habitat: Streambanks, moist places in foothills or low montane yellow-pine forest

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 300-1800 m

Bioregions: n&ampc SN

California counties: El Dorado, Madera, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Nevada

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.